Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:31

"If you avoid the major sins..."

"The major [sins] of what you are forbidden from" It is also recited as: "The major [singular] of what you are forbidden from." Meaning: The grave acts of disobedience that God and His Messenger have forbidden you from.

"We will remit your evil deeds" We will erase the punishment you deserve at any given time for your minor sins, and We will make them as if they never existed. This is due to the increase in reward merited by your avoidance of major sins and your patience in refraining from them, in contrast to the punishment for evil deeds.

Major and minor sins are only described as "major" or "minor" in relation to obedience, disobedience, or the reward of those who commit them.

Expiation (Takfir) is the removal of deserved punishment through a greater reward or through repentance. Nullification (Ihbat) is its opposite: the removal of deserved reward through a greater punishment or through regret for an act of obedience.

Regarding the major sins:

• From Ali (may God be pleased with him): They are seven: Shirk (associating partners with God), murder, false accusation of chastity, adultery, consuming the wealth of an orphan, fleeing from the battlefield, and desertion of the faith after migration.
• Ibn Umar added: Sorcery and declaring the Sacred House (the Kaaba) permissible for violation.
• From Ibn Abbas: A man asked him if the major sins were seven. He replied, "They are closer to seven hundred, for there is no 'minor' sin if one persists in it, and no 'major' sin if one seeks forgiveness." Another narration says "seventy."

Note: It is recited as "Yukaffir" (He will remit) with a 'ya', and "Mudkhalan" (an entrance) with both the damma and fatha on the 'mim', referring to both the place and the verbal noun.